Playing Lily

Chapter4

C

I couldn’t stop staring at her.

She looked exactly like Lily.

The same unruly blonde hair. The same fiery blue eyes. Even down to the way her brows furrowed when someone stared too long. Just like she was doing now.

I chuckled, mostly to myself because I could already see Elijah unraveling. He would deny it until his dying breath but it was clear as day.

What I couldn’t understand was whether this woman right here was the same woman that died right before our eyes five years ago or Lily Donavan just happened to have a scary doppelgänger.

Highly unlikely. Elijah had spent three years trying to convince himself Lily wasn’t dead. She’d been one hell of a con artist, so for a while, he’d believed she’d somehow pulled it off again. Eventually, he gave up searching. Then this woman showed up on our doorstep.

Elijah slammed the door harder than necessary. “Clear out the haul,” his gaze flicked to Mikey. “The flash drive.”

My brows shot up.

Regardless of the fact that she didn’t know the content of it, Elijah would never bring it up in front of anyone else but us.

And still, he refused to look at her until he disappeared into the house.

Alex and Mikey rounded the car and started unloading. I kept my eyes on her. On the way her gaze flicked to the woods like she was weighing her options.

“Don’t bother looking for a way out, sunshine.” I said before stopping a pace away from her.

I didn’t like the way she had to stop herself from scurrying back.

“You’re stuck with us.”

More than you know.

She did a good job of ignoring me while the others cleared the things out and finally, we all entered the house.

I stole another glance. My chest tightened.

I couldn’t help but notice how her eyes lingered on the stairs before forcing herself to look away. Same with the chandelier. Like she was trying very hard to hide the fact that she was amazed by the structure.

A smile ghosted my lips before I could stop it.

When was the last time I felt impressed by wealth?

Mikey bumped my shoulder hard enough to snap me out of my head. “Help us, will ya?”

“No can’t do,” I said, ignoring the way my chest tightened as I walked away from them, away from her. “I have to get started on that drive. Good luck though.”

I didn’t wait around to hear Alex curse me out and made my way to Elijah.

The quieter the hallway got, the more my thoughts settled. Ghosts aside, we had a very serious problem.

First.

Santos Fernandez was dead.

That was what happened when you sent in a ticking time bomb like Alex alone. Someone says something smart. Alex doesn’t let it slide. A dead Don.

Second.

The information we managed to get was somewhat misleading.

We were meant to get two drives. One for the receipts of every transaction the Don had made. Legal or otherwise. And the other for the names of people he was involved with in detail.

I shoved the door to Elijah’s office open.

“We’re running out of time.” I said before I even sat down.

“I know,” Elijah growled, the muscle in his jaw ticking.

“Do you have a plan to get the other drive?”

His eyes snapped up. He hesitated. Elijah never hesitated.

“I already spoke to Rico.” His voice lowered as he leaned back staring at the ceiling with a sigh. “Bruno has it.”

I gritted my teeth. That bastard.

“Then we’ll get it.” I said simply. “Even if we have to pry them out of his dead hands.”

That made Elijah crack open one eye. “We both know violence goes nowhere with him.”

I shrugged. “There has to be a hole to poke.”

That’s when he sighed again. “There is.”

My stomach tightened. I already knew where he was going with this and I hated every second of it.

“We can use her.”

I dragged a rough hand over my face, already feeling that familiar throb in my head. “No. We can’t. You know that.”

Elijah’s jaw ticked. “It worked before.”

“He’ll sniff her out before she steps foot in his house.”

“Then we train her.”

A sharp laugh escaped me as I pushed to my feet. “Absolutely not. That woman in there is not Lily.”

Elijah’s eyes darkened. “I never said she was.”

“Then get that f*****g idea out of your head you piece of-“

The door swung open, making both our heads snap to it. My irritation tempered down at the sight of her.

Her blue eyes were as wide as saucers, her arms still stretched out in front of her.

My lips twitched.

I should have been angry at Elijah. But my lips twitched regardless of that.

An awkward cough bubbled through her as she straightened.

“You’ve barely spent five minutes in my house and you’ve already managed to eavesdrop.” Elijah’s annoyed tone grated on my nerves once again.

Hesitation flashed in Bella’s eyes and whatever she saw in Elijah’s stiff shoulders made her tilt her chin higher. “I mean… you were talking about me so it’s only natural I would want to know why.”

I c****d a brow, not helping my amusement.

“I heard you mention a man named Bruno.”

That caught both our attention. Elijah more than mine.

“I’ll go along with your plan if it means I put a knife through his heart.”

The silence in the room was deafening. I could see the wheels of Elijah’s head turning even before he spoke.

“How do you know we are talking about the same person?”

Something flickered in her eyes. “That’s for me to know. Do we have a deal? Or not?”

I couldn’t tell what it was. Adrenaline? Anticipation? I could count a thousand and one ways this could go wrong but that look in Bella’s eyes was enough to make me curious.

Was she aware of the burning furnace she was about to walk into?

I spoke before Elijah’s shock could wear off. “Deal.”